Board of Firewards — January 15, 2026

Sunapee fire board approved a full-time chief job description and contract at a January 15 meeting without apparent public agenda notice — the position is already headed to a ballot vote.

The meeting was substantively busy and forward-looking rather than internally combative, but notable tension points — a board member openly disagreeing with dispatch policy, accuracy concerns about public documents, and significant contract/job description decisions made without clear public agenda notice — elevate this above a fully routine session.

Date Thursday, January 15, 2026 Duration 1.6h Speakers 3 Decisions 6 Lively

▶ Video 📄 Minutes

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⚠️ SUNAPEE BOARD OF FIREWARDS — January 15, 2026: What Was Decided, and What Wasn't Publicly Noticed

At last Thursday's Board of Firewards meeting, the board conducted a detailed review and approved both a full-time fire chief job description and an employment contract — including a decision to move Fire Officer II and EMT Basic certifications from contractual requirements to required job qualifications. These are consequential governance decisions tied directly to a $67,000 warrant article that Sunapee voters will consider at the February 3 deliberative session. Based on available information, this contract and job description review did not appear to be publicly noticed as a specific agenda item. Residents who might have wanted to attend and comment on the qualifications or contract terms had no opportunity to do so. That is a transparency problem, regardless of whether the underlying proposal is sound.

There is also a public safety issue that deserves attention. The regional dispatch center recently asked the fire department to limit radio use to apparatus-only communications — a significant operational constraint. Shortly afterward, multiple dispatch errors occurred during a real emergency call on Lake Ave. One board member said on the record: 'I don't agree, but I'll adhere to it.' The board is now documenting these errors and plans to raise them with the dispatch center, but is currently operating under the restrictive protocol in the meantime. Residents deserve to know this is an active and unresolved issue.

On the warrant articles: both the $294,000 capital reserve appropriation and the $67,000 fire chief position have been approved by selectmen for the ballot. The board spent significant time at this meeting developing a one-page document to bring to the deliberative session making the case for these articles. That kind of outreach is fine — but voters should also know that the job description and contract were already approved at a meeting without clear advance public notice, and that the board's own staffing documents now describe 7-day-a-week per diem coverage as a 2026 goal, while acknowledging on record that filling all those shifts remains a challenge.

The February 3 deliberative session is your opportunity to ask questions and amend articles before they go to a final vote. Come prepared. Ask about the contract terms. Ask what the staffing numbers actually reflect. Ask how dispatch errors are being addressed. These decisions affect your safety and your tax bill.

Jan 15, 2026 1.6h long 3 speakers 6 decisions Lively

❝ Notable statements ↔ Drag to browse

“At the end of the day there was agreement to put both articles on the ballot, both the chief one and the capital reserve one at the amounts that were specified in our request”

— Unidentified speaker · Reporting on selectmen's meeting outcome for warrant articles ▶ 07:48

“Everything's got to be attached to a PO from 1 cent all the way up. It has to have a PO in order for the invoice to be processed”

— Unidentified speaker · Explaining new town purchasing requirements that will affect fire department operations ▶ 17:02

“I don't agree, but I'll adhere to it. They don't want anybody getting on the Radio other than maybe Matt or I”

— Unidentified speaker · Responding to dispatch request to limit radio communications, while noting compliance despite disagreement ▶ 22:04

“We've been getting by on the goodwill of the people in the job and they're doing a full time job. They're just not getting paid or recognized for it.”

— Unidentified speaker · Explaining the current situation with part-time chief doing full-time work ▶ 1:07:43

“This needs to be like short and sweet. People are coming to the deliberative with 147 different things that they want to hear about... So it needs to be short, sweet. This is what we're asking for and this is the reason why, period.”

— Unidentified speaker · Emphasizing need for concise presentation format for town meeting ▶ 1:12:03

“That's all they're going to get for most of it... You pick it up, you get the amortization schedule for the bond they're proposing and you look at it and you go, 6.2 million, 30 years, 500 grand a year. That's all I care about.”

— Unidentified speaker · Describing typical voter attention span at deliberative sessions ▶ 1:23:45

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Public ⁠impact

Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.

What was discussed

$67,000 annually for new full-time fire chief position; exact tax rate impact pending calculation per board action items

What was discussed

$294,000 appropriation to capital reserve fund; placed on ballot for voter approval

What was discussed

Peak ambulance truck stationed at fire department only Monday–Friday 7am–7pm (excluding Tuesdays); 24-hour crews now based at hospital rather than locally, potentially increasing response times outside peak hours

What was discussed

Fire department restricted from non-apparatus radio communications; multiple dispatch errors already documented during at least one live incident, raising response coordination concerns